Week 1: Midwest Monday, or "MOM, THE MEATLOAF"

By Kyle Magin

Here we are, at the outset of week one of the college football season. The air seems just a little clearer, the sun a little brighter, and everything's just a touch more violent. Boys and men from my city, general region or state are about to strap on helmets and run into boys and men from your city, general region or state for everyone's amusement and their neurologist's future financial benefit. Let us rejoice.

MSU -6.5 vs. Boise St.
On Friday night the boys in green take on the Broncos in the friendly confines of East Lansing. The Spartans are a bit of a mystery on offense heading into this season, as the O-line and running backs represent 90-plus percent of the returning starts. QB Andrew Maxwell gets his first shot against a re-tooled Boise front 7 and a familiar defensive backfield. Joe Southwick steps in at QB for the Broncos—a position they haven't had to fill for the last four years while riding the outstanding Kellen Moore through the WAC. Bronco Nation says their team doesn't rebuild, they reload, and we'll see how accurate that is when Southwick steps in behind a mostly new O-line vs. the Spartans' vaunted front four.

Notre Dame -17 vs. Navy (Dublin, Ireland)
Irish eyes might smile, but I'm f&%$ing not, because this game kicks at 6 a.m. PST Saturday. That's a lousy thing to do to fans on the first Saturday of the college football season, because OBVIOUSLY, I'm not going to sleep in and if I want to bet it I have to get down on Friday night. Ugh. ANYWAY, I felt a lot more confident about the Irish covering yesterday before junior running back Cierre Wood was suspended for the overseas contest. Add that to the fact that the Irish are 2-3 in the last 5 years vs. the Midshipmen and you can see why someone would be just a bit antsy about that big of a spread. That said, new ND QB Everett Golson has the elusiveness that could make this a nightmare day for the undersized Navy D.

Western Michigan at Illinois -10.5
The Illini come in with an improving and more experienced defense to find good field position for dual-threat QB Nathan Scheelhaase. They'll face a Broncos team that led at halftime vs. Illinois last year before getting outplayed by the Illini O in the 2nd. WMU QB Alex Carder is an animal and will have plenty of time to find his targets behind an experienced O-line. WMU is woeful in road openers, but the Illini are 52-63 against the spread in the role as home favorites all-time—something to think about.

Michigan vs. Alabama -12.5 (Dallas, Texas)
Come along with me, won't you, to JerryWorld in Dallas, where the two most arrogant fan bases in sports will come to spout flecks of relish and mustard at one another while arguing over all manner of sports and socioeconomic nonsense. I'm just beside myself over not being amongst this gathering of genius and modesty. But I digress... Vegas wants you to bet on Michigan, and friends I've talked to say maybe you should. The line moved from -11 to -12.5 in the last five days—a good indicator money has been coming in on 'Bama and the book is trying to move action to the UM side of the ledger. Michigan's a bit of a mystery on offense—all the pieces are there, but they've just never played together before outside of Robinson and most of his offensive line. 'Bama brings back a whole new secondary, wideout corps and generally re-worked linebacking unit. That said, the Tide O, led by QB AJ McCarron and maybe the best O-line in the country could have a field day with a still-understaffed UM D, especially now that standout DT Mike Martin is gone. Robinson won't need more than an inch against this 'Bama D, so look for a shootout in Dallas. When I was thinking about this UM-Bama line after it moved, I thought I would stay for some of that Meatloaf...errr, Wolverine.